


vEX.

by sprucewoodcottage (ironmermaidens)



Series: vEX [1]
Category: Hermitcraft
Genre: Cake, Gen, Hermitcraft season 6, foolish characters doing foolish things, joining cults for fun and profit, slaps top of fanfic this bad boy can fit so many references to the fae in it, the Vex, thunderstorms as metaphors for emotions, vex!ex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-05-20 17:48:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19381699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ironmermaidens/pseuds/sprucewoodcottage
Summary: Evil X didn't mean to catch the attention of the vex, but now that he has he can't help but follow wherever it is they call him.





	vEX.

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Masks That Are Put Upon Us](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22563844) by [RemainingQuestions](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RemainingQuestions/pseuds/RemainingQuestions). 



> Shout out to my vex squad pals over on the trsns server— @cheshire-vex, @concorpdrone, @darkoaklogs, @trulybedrock, and @ohnoitsanerd (the artist formerly known as @slime-slab) on tumblr! Thanks for all your support, headcanons, and the writings that inspired this fic! It wouldn't exist without all the groundwork you laid before me. :)

He didn’t intend to follow Cub and Scar. His wandering had been contentedly listless before he spotted them. He doesn’t realize his path has converged with theirs until he’s hiding behind a wall, stifling his breath lest he incur the wrath of the vex. Evil X digs his fingers into the brick of the wall to keep himself grounded in the presence of such powerful magic. It makes him feel lightheaded—or is that because he’s holding his breath?—it makes him feel strangely at ease. He longs to be closer to it, fully embraced by it. He scratches his fingers against the wall until they bleed.

He becomes so focused on keeping himself hidden, he doesn’t notice when the convex have left until the roiling tidal wave of magic has calmed to gentle waves lapping at the shore. He pulls away from the wall, steps out into the open, and he basks in the ripples of magic against his skin.

Evil X reaches out a hand, closes his eyes, and lets the magic brush against him like a sly cat. It nibbles on his fingers and licks at his blood and he thinks more, more, please, more. It sinks its teeth in and he yanks his hand away, drawing in a breath of air and blinking until his mind clears. He should know better than to play with magic he doesn’t understand.

He feels weak anger surround him, the vex’s rage at his insult. He steps back from it until there’s nothing but a ghost of the vex left in him. He feels empty without it. He turns and walks away quickly before he can consider that too deeply.

—

Evil X tosses and turns and for once his thoughts aren't consumed by nightmares and fear. His intermittent dreams are filled with shimmering blue of a most seductive kind. It calls to him, beckons him, until he finally finds himself throwing his blanket off. His feet follow a path of their own design—of the magic’s design, he realizes when he sees the gates of ConCorp rising up through the night’s darkness. He can feel it calling to him as it had in his dreams. He takes a step closer before he can think better of it, puts his hands on the gate and effortlessly pushes it open. He knows this place as if he's been here before. He's seen it while he sleeps. The magic calls him. He obeys.

He finds one of the convex’s mask with ease, like he's been here a thousand times before, holding the smooth porcelain in his hands in reverence. He traces his fingers over the features of the mask and somehow he knows this one belongs to Cub. Briefly, Evil X considers taking it. Why shouldn’t he? Something in the mask shifts. He blinks. It looks the same. Did he imagine it?

He hears footsteps from the hall and drops the mask with a loud clatter. For just a moment he’s afraid he’s broken it, and his heart skips a beat at the thought.

The mask smiles up at him in one piece. He nearly lets out a cry of relief before he remembers the reason for dropping it in the first place. The footsteps are louder now, closer. He slips out of the room, out into the darkness of night, confident he’s gone unseen.

__

It wasn’t unusual for Evil X to crave cake these days. It’s become something of a comfort food for him. He doesn’t think anything of it. He buys his cake and goes on his way, taking a bite out of it as he wanders through the shopping district.

It’s unsatisfying. He frowns and takes another bite. It tastes the same as it usually does, yet somehow… lacking.

“Evil Xisuma,” A voice from behind him calls. He turns and his heart leaps into his throat. It’s Cub. He approaches at an even pace, but there’s something tense in his posture. “Walk with me.”

Evil X swallows his heart and his cake. “Okay.”

They walk. Evil X pokes at his cake with his fork, but his appetite has desserted him.

“You were at ConCorp last night,” Cub says. It’s not a question.

“No I wasn’t,” Evil X denies. Cub gives him a flat look. He mentally curses himself. He really thought he’d gotten away without being spotted.

“I didn’t take anything,” he amends.

“But you touched something,” Cub says.

“No I didn't,” Evil X says, and mentally slaps himself as the words leave his mouth. Cub doesn't look amused.

“I didn't break it,” he says. “And I won't do it again so why don't we just forget the whole thing ever happened?”

“No can do,” Cub says, shaking his head. Evil X opens his mouth to protest, but Cub holds up a hand. “You're messing with things you don't understand, Evil Xisuma.”

“I said I'll stop,” Evil X grumbles, rolling his eyes.

“That's not good enough. I need you to _promise me_ you'll stop looking for the vex.” Cub says firmly. “No more sneaking around ConCorp. No more following me and Scar.”

Evil X blinks. “How did you know—?”

“I wouldn’t answer that even if I could,” Cub says, shaking his head again. He stops walking, and Evil X stops too. Cub looks him in the eyes, and Evil X has to resist the urge to squirm under his gaze. “Now promise me.”

Evil X hesitates. He hates promises on principle, but this? This wasn’t one he was sure he intended to keep anyway. His mind keeps wandering back to that first night, to the way the magic had felt in his hands. It was wild, unrestrained. Warm and dangerous like a midsummer storm. Comforting and yet thrilling all at once. He longed to feel it again, and he thought the vex wanted to feel him too.

Maybe that was silly. Nobody wanted him. Cub certainly didn’t. Did he speak for the vex? Is this what they wanted?

“Evil Xisuma,” Cub says, voice stressed, gaze impatient. Evil X looks down at his feet.

“Yeah. Sorry. I promise.”

Cub sighs, and he sounds relieved when he says, “Good. Good.”

__

Another sleepless night. Evil X sits in bed, knees drawn up to his chest, fingers tangled in his hair, and ignores the whispering voices that call to him.

__

He can feel the vex’s presence. He doesn’t even have to look for it. Every one of Cub and Scar’s builds shimmer with it like a Fata Morgana. He avoids them, until he doesn’t anymore. He sits at the lip of Scar’s volcano, basking in the chilly moonlight. His eyes are closed. He doesn’t need them to see exactly where Scar’s mask resides. He can feel it. He can feel it under his fingertips. He opens his eyes and his breath catches in his throat. He’s holding Scar’s mask.

_Let go._

When did he even descend from the volcano’s peak?

_Put it down._

He traces his fingers along the mask. It looks just like Cub’s, yet somehow uniquely Scar’s.

_You made a promise._

Fuck his promise. He never wants to let this feeling go.

“Evil X? What are you doing here?”

His heart leaps into his throat at the sound of Scar’s voice. He nearly drops the mask as he had Cub’s.

Scar puts a gentle hand on his shoulder, pries the mask out of his grip. “You need to leave, Evil X. You promised Cub.”

“He told you…?” Evil X asks vaguely, even as his thoughts linger on the phantom feeling of porcelain under his fingers.

“Of course,” Scar says. “Now, you need to go home.”

“Okay…” He says, pulling his eyes away from the mask that Scar hides behind his back. “I’ll go.”

Scar ushers him out of the volcano and Evil X flies home, head in a haze.

__

It’s storming, and Evil X can’t sleep. Lightning lights up his bedchamber and he sees the vex watching him out of the corner of his eyes. He hears them call him in every roll of thunder overhead. He feels the rain pouring down on his head before he realizes that he’s listening.

Evil X brushes his wet hair away from his forehead, out of his eyes, and through the sheets of water that fall over him he sees them. They beckon. He follows.

The rain continues to come down on him, soaking him to the bone, but he hardly notices through the thoughts of the vex that swirl in his mind. He closes his eyes and can see the shimmering blue, he feels it caressing his skin the closer he gets to where it calls him. He can see the gates of ConCorp, recalls his promise to Cub, but before he can do much more than that, the gates are being pushed open of their own accord. He feels a gentle touch against his jaw, pulling him forward into the plaza.

Lightning flashes again, so close that the world hasn’t even returned to darkness before he feels the thunder rumbling in his chest, and he closes his eyes against the light. The vex will guide him, and he lets his feet carry him as they direct. Evil X tastes static on his tongue before the next flash of lightning strikes. He can hear the vex’s laughter carried through the air on the thunder, and he lets out a sharp bark of his own. He thinks of how Cub and Scar tried to keep him from this and laughs even harder. Not even an obsidian box could have kept him from this.

The vex direct him towards one of the more muted buildings in the area, leading him inside. He shivers as soon as he passes through the doorway, whether it be from the way his wet clothes and hair stick to his skin or from anticipation he isn’t sure. He has no idea where the vex are even leading him or why, but some irrational part of his brain trusts them.

They lead him deeper, deeper, and deeper until he finds himself in an unfinished room, dim torchlight all that illuminates it. There's a chest against the far wall. He takes three long strides across the room and drops to his knees in front of it. Evil X feels a pressure against his shoulders, urging him on, and he brings shaking fingers to the latch. The pressure curls into his flesh like clawed fingers and he gasps, tensing until he's released. The magic licks at him apologetically until he relaxes.

Evil X pulls the latch open. He lifts the lid of the chest and can’t help a nervous giggle that the squeaking hinges pull from his throat. Some part of him knows what he’ll find sitting inside, but he still feels the air leave his lungs as his eyes land on the pristine vex mask that sits neatly at the bottom. The vex whisper encouragement in his ears, and he feels them against his hands.

 _Take the mask,_ they say to him. _Wear the mask. Become one with the vex._

“Okay…” he says, reaching into the chest and grabbing hold of it with a delicacy he didn’t think himself capable of. Evil X pulls the mask out, holds it up to examine it, and feels his heart flutter at the sight. This mask was a gift from the vex meant for him, only for him, and Cub and Scar tried to hide it from him. He curls his lip into a snarl, but a gentle touch against his cheek calms him.

 _Nothing can keep you from us,_ the vex assure. _Not as long as you desire it to be so._

“I do,” Evil X breathes. He flips the mask around so the back faces him. So he can don it properly. He feels another nervous flutter in his chest, a moment of doubt, as if perhaps it was all a trick of the vex. It couldn’t be real, could it? The vex could have anyone they wanted on this server. Why would they choose him?

 _We want you,_ they say, and he feels their magic curling around his hands again. He grips the mask tighter. _We want you._

He nearly cries out at that, but his resolve is cemented. The vex want him. He wants them back.

He brings the mask to his face.

It fits him perfectly.

And why wouldn’t it?

It was his mask, after all.

It hits him like a hurricane. Vex magic whips against his skin, draws the air out of his lungs and replaces it with a power he only had a taste of before now. He feels it in his fingers and toes, under his skin, tickling against his ribs until it rips breathy laughter from him.

What Evil X felt before had been a gentle stream compared to the whitewater rapids coursing through his veins now. His head swims in the feeling, barely treading water, yet he finds himself longing to drown in it. He’ll gladly allow the siren song of the vex to pull him under. He closes his eyes and basks in the way it overwhelms him, pushes everything else out until there is nothing left but the vex.

He let’s his head lull back and another laugh spills out of him as the motion causes him to sway off-kilter. He feels something against his shoulders holding him upright, and it takes a moment longer to realize they’re hands—solid, corporeal hands belonging to people, to hermits, to the convex, to Cub and Scar. He blinks at Cub, laughs at his impassive-yet-concerned gaze.

 _“You tried to keep him from us,”_ he hears his own voice say, although the words do not belong to him. How strange, he thinks. Strange, but wonderful. _“Such insolence.”_

He turns to Scar, who is doing nothing to conceal his worry. Evil X smiles beneath his mask, tiny giggles bubbling up out of his throat as he does.

 _“Lucky for you,”_ his voice says. _“We are forgiving.”_

Scar’s face twists into a grimace, and Evil X let’s out one last breathy laugh before allowing his eyes to drift closed again. He feels the power inside him settling, a calm after a raging storm. He feels exhausted by it as he would have after a long and satisfying day of building. He could curl up in bed and sleep through the night as he hadn’t in a long time, the vex’s magic blanketing him like a comforting protection.

“Evil Xisuma,” Cub says. “Take the mask off.”

He doesn’t want to take it off. He wants to feel this powerful magic just awhile longer.

“Why?” he asks. “Why should I?”

“It’s not time, Evil X,” Scar says. “When the vex call on us, they’ll call for you too. But not right now. Take it off.”

The vex echo Scar’s words and Evil X sighs. Slowly he brings weak fingers to the edge of the mask. He can feel the vex aiding him, whispering praise and encouragement at his obedience as he lifts the mask away from his face, feels a rush as the vex’s magic leaves him. He misses it already.

“I know,” Cub says, his hand thumping against Evil X’s back in comfort. He blinks. It takes him a moment to realize he's given voice to his thoughts, to realize that's what Cub was responding to. He feels someone tugging at his mask, and his fingers tighten their hold on it. He pulls it closer to his chest, growls a warning at Scar, who puts his hands up placatingly.

“Alright, alright, you can hold it,” Scar says. “Don't put it back on.”

“'m not stupid,” Evil X responds, his voice thick from his exhaustion. He'd pull away from the convex if he could, but he doesn't think he has the energy for that. Instead he finds himself leaning against Cub and away from Scar.

“After your actions tonight, I might argue otherwise,” Cub says. “I _told_ you to stop coming here, Evil Xisuma. I told you to stop looking for the vex.”

Evil X grits his teeth and finds himself leaning away from Cub now, leaning into Scar’s comforting arms. He holds his mask close, protecting it from the convex. He doesn’t trust them not to take it away from him.

“The vex want me,” he says quietly. How long has it been since he’s been wanted by anyone? Cub and Scar couldn’t possibly understand what it felt like to be unwanted—unwanted even by those you thought of as friends. He strokes his fingers lightly against the edges of his mask. “The vex _want_ me.”

He can feel Scar’s hand on his shoulder, can feel Cub adding his own to the back of his neck, and he’s struck with a sense of belonging. He relaxes into their touch, closes his eyes and let’s himself bask in the feeling. It’s almost as good at the vex’s magic under his skin.

“Come on, Evil X,” Scar says, his voice pulling Evil X out of his drowsy daze. “Let’s get you something to eat. You must be starving.”

He is, he realizes then. His stomach growls in agreement. He wants cake.

Scar laughs. “Yeah, we can get you some cake. That won’t be a problem at all.”

He’s too tired to be embarrassed that another of his thoughts slipped out of his mouth without his realizing. Scar and Cub help him to his feet, taking most of his weight on as his own legs fail to hold him up. Putting the mask on really had taken a lot out of him.

He shocks himself with a small peal of laughter, feels Cub’s fingers tighten on his shoulder like a warning. He laughs again, leans further against the convex and allows himself to be lead away from the unfinished room where he’d found his mask.


End file.
